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Latest On Kings Coaching Search

April 21st, 2016 at 5:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 5:34pm: McMillan intends to wait until the Pacers’ playoff run is over before interviewing for the Kings’ post, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

6:50pm: There has been no official contact yet, but the Kings are also interested in former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). The interest is mutual, Amick says.

WEDNESDAY, 10:19am: Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton and Kings GM Vlade Divac are expected to meet to discuss Sacramento’s head coaching vacancy, likely after Golden State’s first-round playoff series with Houston, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Walton is “extremely fond” of Divac, who was briefly his Lakers teammate, and the location of Sacramento is increasingly appealing to Walton, who is fond of life in Northern California and has several close relatives in the Sacramento area, Voisin writes. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Monday that no team had asked permission to interview his top assistant, but Voisin reported Tuesday that Walton was among the coaches to whom the Kings had reached out.

Divac is especially interested in Walton, Spurs assistant Ettore Messina and NBA coaching veterans Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, but he’s planned to speak with several others. Divac is inquiring about the interest of Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Spurs assistant Ime Udoka and at least two college coaches, among other names previously reported as Kings coaching targets, Voisin relays. The Kings are poised to interview Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson, according to reports. Mitchell’s interview is to take place today, a source told The Bee’s Jason Jones.

Sacramento has natural appeal to Brooks, who’s from the nearby city of French Camp, California, but Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported last week that he’s not interested in coaching the Kings, with the Wizards apparently the front-runner for the former Thunder head coach. Thibodeau and Van Gundy, apparent co-favorites for the Timberwolves job, don’t want to coach Sacramento either, according to Wojnarowski.

The Kings have reached out to Messina, as Voisin reported previously, though Messina and fellow Spurs assistant Udoka are busy with the playoffs. Both were reportedly candidates for the Nets vacancy, with Udoka the apparent front-runner at one point before the job instead went to Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, who also reportedly drew interest from the Kings.

Williams is a Thunder assistant but has been away from the team since his wife died in February. He won’t rejoin the team for the playoffs and, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater hears, he’s not expected to return to Oklahoma City for next season, either. Top free agent Kevin Durant has a close bond with Williams, the former Pelicans head coach.

Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson, David Blatt, Jeff Hornacek, Patrick Ewing, Nate McMillan and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga are the other candidates in whom the Kings are reportedly interested. Sources who spoke with Marc Stein of ESPN.com have speculated that Heat assistant David Fizdale and former Cavs and Lakers coach Mike Brown could become Kings candidates as well.

Which of the many names mentioned here do you like best for the Kings? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Kings To Interview Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro

April 19th, 2016 at 8:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:05pm: The Kings’ first three interviews for their vacant coaching position will be with Jackson, Del Negro and former Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 2:50pm: The Kings are scheduled to interview Vinny Del Negro next week, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports, confirming a tweet from Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that indicated as much. They’d like to interview Kevin McHale, but he hasn’t decided whether he’ll meet with the team, league sources told Wojnarowski, who earlier reported the team plans to interview Mike Woodson. The team is expected to meet with a handful of candidates for initial interviews before moving on to the next stage of its search, Wojnarowski hears.

Del Negro’s name emerged among several in the mix for the Kings job when Wojnarowski reported his candidacy last week. Sacramento reportedly contacted Del Negro for its vacancy in December 2014, shortly after firing Michael Malone, but since then, the Kings have had two head coaches, and Vlade Divac succeeded Pete D’Alessandro as the front office chief.

Sacramento has reached out to Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks, Ettore Messina, Luke Walton and David Blatt in addition to Del Negro and Woodson, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), though Thibodeau and Brooks appear to be long shots, at best. Jeff Hornacek, Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing, Nate McMillan and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga are others in whom the team reportedly has interest as it seeks a replacement for the fired George Karl.

Experience appears to be a key for Divac as he looks at candidates, and Del Negro fits that bill. The 49-year-old is 210-184 in five seasons as an NBA head coach, split between the Bulls and the Clippers.

Kings To Interview Mike Woodson

April 19th, 2016 at 1:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings plan to interview Clippers assistant Mike Woodson for their head coaching job, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The Clippers have granted permission for the interview to take place, Wojnarowski hears.

Sacramento reportedly has interest in several candidates, and the team is seeking an experienced replacement for the fired George Karl, as GM Vlade Divac indicated. The sense within the organization is that the team is willing to test the market for DeMarcus Cousins, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee wrote, but regardless of whether Cousins is around, whomever the Kings hire will face a daunting task. The franchise hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006.

Woodson ended an eight-year playoff drought for the Hawks in 2008, his win total improving in each of his six seasons as coach of Atlanta. He later coached the Knicks, guiding them to 54 wins in 2012/13, the team’s last playoff season. Still, the 58-year-old is just 315-365 in the regular season and 18-28 in the playoffs as an NBA head coach. The Magic interviewed Woodson last year before hiring Scott Skiles, and while another report suggested Woodson also interviewed with the Nuggets for the job that ultimately went to Michael Malone, that’s not entirely clear.

David Blatt, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Hornacek, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing and Nate McMillan are others in whom the Kings reportedly have interest. They’re also apparently fond of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks but understand they’re not likely to end up in Sacramento.

Clippers Gauge Interest In Stephenson, Smith?

December 9th, 2015 at 7:56am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 7:56am: Rivers denies that he’s reached out to anyone about Stephenson and Smith. The coach/executive addressed the issue in an appearance on “The Fred Roggin Show” on The Beast 980 radio in Los Angeles.

“Not true,” Rivers said of the initial report. “It’s amazing how silly this stuff is. I don’t comment on it much obviously but I can tell you, I think I’m the president of basketball and I’ve yet to have a conversation with any team about anyone right now. These reports come out and there’s nothing you can do about it.

An NBA executive told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times that the Clippers indeed placed calls about Stephenson and Smith but that they were exploratory and routine for this time of year (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 8:30am: The Clippers measured the trade market for Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith last month, league sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, but they’ve withdrawn from that effort more recently amid a spate of injuries, Spears adds. The team doesn’t have anyone on its injury report currently, but it’s unclear if trade talks will resume. Spears also suggests the Clippers remain open to trading Jamal Crawford, a frequent subject of trade rumors in the offseason, though coach/executive Doc Rivers said in September that he’d be “very surprised” if Crawford doesn’t remain a Clipper throughout the season. Smith becomes eligible for inclusion in trades a week from today, while Stephenson and Crawford are already trade-eligible.

Two NBA executives indicated to Spears that the Clippers probably found a weak market for the pair. One exec suggested that the two are more likely to work buyouts than end up in trades, further speculating that Stephenson ends up back on the Pacers, his original team. The other executive who spoke with Spears alleged that Stephenson and Smith have negatively affected team chemistry in L.A. Smith recently shouted back and forth with assistant coach Mike Woodson following a loss, Spears reports. The second executive also said he believes it’ll be tough for the Clippers to find trade partners for either Smith or Stephenson since few had interest in either before they joined the team, Spears adds.

Still, the Kings, Mavs and Rockets were reportedly interested in signing Smith as a free agent this past summer, when he took a discount and joined the Clippers on a one-year, minimum-salary deal. The Nets apparently talked about trading for Stephenson on two different occasions last season, when he was with the Hornets, and the Heat were apparently among the teams with interest last year, too. It’s unclear if those teams were still eyeing him when the Clippers struck a deal to acquire him in June. He’s making $9MM this season and has a $9.405MM team option for next season.

What teams do you think would be strong fits for Stephenson, Smith and Crawford? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Malone Gets Second Interview With Nuggets

June 7th, 2015 at 6:17pm CST by Will Joseph

Michael Malone has landed a second interview with the Nuggets for their head coaching vacancy, tweets ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, who cites sources. Stein also tweets that he expects Mike D’Antoni to secure a second interview with the team, and that interim coach Melvin Hunt remains firmly in the mix to keep the job on a full-time basis. It is not clear when Malone’s second interview with the Nuggets will take place.

The Nuggets initially interviewed Malone, primarily known as a defensive coach, on Tuesday. Malone was fired as coach of the Kings in December. Malone’s regular season coaching record with the Kings was 39-67.

Hunt reportedly emerged as the front-runner to land the job on a more permanent basis in late May. Denver interviewed D’Antoni, who is known for running up-tempo offenses, on Tuesday as well. The Nuggets received permission to interview Wizards assistant Don Newman, who has been an NBA assistant coach for 16 NBA seasons, on Thursday. It also appears Denver is in line to interview Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson. The Nuggets have the league’s only remaining coaching vacancy.

Nuggets Interview Mike D’Antoni, Eye Malone

June 3rd, 2015 at 5:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mike D’Antoni met with the Nuggets on Tuesday regarding their head coaching position, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Denver’s post is the lone remaining coaching vacancy in the NBA now that Fred Hoiberg is in place in Chicago, Scott Skiles is on the job in Orlando, and Alvin Gentry has been hired to lead the Pelicans. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported that D’Antoni would be a potential target of Denver’s.

While D’Antoni’s fast-paced offensive style fits perfectly into what Denver wishes to transition to, interim coach Melvin Hunt, who was reported to have emerged as the front-runner to land the post on a more permanent basis, still remains a strong contender for the position, Wojnarowski adds. Also reported to be in the mix for Denver’s coaching billet is former Hawks and Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who could land an interview in the near future, and former Kings coach Michael Malone, who has had conversations with GM Tim Connelly, and Malone could warrant an interview as well, Wojnarowski notes.

D’Antoni, 64, spent less than a season as the interim head coach with the Nuggets during the 1998/99 campaign, and he has also been a head coach for the Suns, Knicks , and the Lakers. Through 881 career regular season contests his record is 455-426, with a postseason mark of 26-33.

Nuggets To Interview Mike Woodson?

June 3rd, 2015 at 10:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Hawks and Knicks coach Mike Woodson “could” be the next candidate to interview for the Nuggets coaching vacancy, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe hears (Twitter link). It’s not clear what’s at the root of any uncertainty about whether Woodson will speak with Denver officials, but it nonetheless doesn’t appear as though Washburn is just speculating. Magic GM Rob Hennigan last month reportedly interviewed Woodson, now a Clippers assistant coach, for the Orlando job that instead went to Scott Skiles.

The Nuggets would like to hire a coach prior to the June 25th draft, GM Tim Connelly said at the beginning of the team’s coaching search, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post notes. Interim coach and player favorite Melvin Hunt is reportedly the front-runner to keep the job, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote a couple of weeks ago that Mike D’Antoni remained in the mix. Michael Malone and Blazers assistant David Vanterpool were other contenders that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports identified in April, though there hasn’t been much connecting either of them to the Nuggets since. The Nuggets are “not an option” for Tom Thibodeau, sources told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com a couple of weeks ago.

Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling wrote last week that D’Antoni had yet to interview for the Nuggets job when he reported the news that Hunt is the favorite. Woodson, a year removed from his time as Knicks coach, is the first identified candidate other than Hunt who appears to be in line for an interview with Denver.

Magic Rumors: Skiles, Harris, Martins

May 30th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic players will have to earn their minutes under new coach Scott Skiles, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Skiles, who was hired by the team Friday, earned a tough-guy reputation during his 10 years as a player in the NBA, and he brings that same philosophy into coaching. “Under the umbrella of developing guys comes a bunch of different things,” Skiles said. “Accountability is one of them. You’re short-changing guys if you don’t think that you can challenge them and that they’ll rise to a challenge.” One the challenges Skiles issued during his first press conference was for Orlando to finish in the top five in defensive efficiency next season. The Magic ranked 25th this year.

There’s much more from Central Florida:

Skiles is doing his best to quell rumors that there are problems between him and Tobias Harris, who will likely become a restricted free agent in July. Skiles tells Robbins (Twitter link) that he has stayed in touch with Harris, whom he coached in Milwaukee, and their relationship is strong.
GM Rob Hennigan held face-to-face interviews with three other candidates before hiring Skiles, Robbins writes in a separate story. They were former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg and Clippers assistant Mike Woodson, who has served as head coach of the Hawks and Knicks. “I truly wanted this to be an objective decision about his coaching ability,” CEO Alex Martins said of the hiring process. “I didn’t want my personal past with Scott and my experience with him of having been a player here and our relationship to enter into that.”
Skiles’ record of success with young teams in Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee appealed to the Magic, according to John Denton of nba.com. Skiles said he expects players to be on time, play hard and play to win, and he addressed his hard-nosed reputation. “I won’t deny that there have been a handful of times when I may have butted heads with a guy,” Skiles said. “I’m never looking for confrontation, but I’m not afraid of it.”

Magic Interview Mike Woodson

May 28th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Magic GM Rob Hennigan met with Clippers assistant Mike Woodson this past weekend in Southern California, but the team is focused instead on Scott Skiles, whose status as the front-runner for the Orlando job has only strengthened, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Pelicans have also interviewed Skiles, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported late Wednesday, so ostensibly Woodson remains in the hunt for the Magic job as a fallback option.

Woodson spent the past season as an assistant to Doc Rivers after the Knicks fired him last year. He’d meet the Magic’s desire for candidates with NBA head coaching experience, as he’s spent parts of nine seasons as the bench boss for the Knicks and the Hawks, going a combined 315-365 in the regular season and 18-28 in the playoffs. Rivers earlier reportedly called the Magic to endorse the hiring of Tom Thibodeau, a former assistant of Rivers.

Resolution to the drama between Thibodeau and the Bulls is expected no later than Friday, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported, with a firing seemingly the likely outcome. So, Thibs could become available to the Magic and other teams without the requirement that Orlando send compensation to the Bulls. Several reports have indicated that the Magic have had interest in Thibodeau, but many have overstated the level of that interest, Johnson wrote last week.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Draft, Woodson

May 15th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have an 82.8% chance to secure a top five pick in this year’s NBA Draft lottery. But despite those excellent odds, Los Angeles’ GM Mitch Kupchak is stressed about the outcome, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It’s completely out of our control. But I’m somewhat of a worry-wart,” Kupchak said. “I know our percentage is very high that we end up with a top-five pick, but I have to prepare for if we don’t get it. We’ll be prepared either way.” The executive’s worries stem from the fact that if the pick falls out of the top five it will convey to the Sixers. “If we get a pick, that’s an asset,” Kupchak said. “That’s an asset you can use to trade or work to use it on the player in the draft. If we don’t, we’ll still be able to carry on and move forward.”

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

Despite having a roster already loaded with outside shooters the Warriors met with Georgia State gunner R.J. Hunter at the draft combine, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
The Lakers interviewed Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke forward Justise Winslow at the combine, Medina relays (Twitter links).
Mike Woodson, who is now an assistant with the Clippers, indicated he still hopes to land another spot as a head coach, Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets. “I’ve been a head coach for nine years in this league. Hopefully I’ll get another opportunity,” Woodson said. The former Hawks and Knicks coach has a career record of 315-365.
Kentucky products Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles interviewed with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links).
The Suns will consider taking Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky when making their draft selection this June, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I feel like I can fit into multiple roles and help the team on the offensive end,” Kaminsky said. “I don’t think I have as many deficiencies on the defensive end as has been so kindly brought up by so many different people. I think I can fit in with just about any team.“